Please tell me about mynah birds!

Factual Questions
1

I’m getting more interested every day in all the different feathered friends we keep as pets. One kind I’m really interested in (and am thinking about getting as a companion bird someday) is the mynah bird – specifically the hill mynah, gracula religiosa and *Acridotheres tristis *, the Indian or common mynah . I’ve learned a few basics online: that they have totally different dietary and housing needs than psittacines. that they’re quite talented as talkers or mimics, maybe even rivalling African Gray parrots, and that they have a lifespan of ten or more years. What I want to find out about them, preferably from people who have some experience, is stuff like:

How smart are mynahs, compared to other birds one might keep as pets? What do they do besides talking that makes them interesting pets?

Are they as friendly, interactive and full of personality as those psittacines that we keep as pets and companions? Do they usually develop a bond with their humans to the degree some parrots do?

What are their personalities and temperaments like, in general terms?

How likely are mynahs to be mean or screamy, or to go psycho? I know those become issues with hookbills sometimes.

How demanding (time-wise, physically, and financially) is it to maintain captive mynahs in a happy and healthy condition?

I’ve never seen a mynah bird in a pet shop or bird store; does that indicate they are hard to acquire? Would one probably have to find a mynah breeder to buy a young’un, or have I just missed the ones in the pet stores up to now? I am going to assume they are captive bred somewhere in the USA – hope so, since I would never support the traffic in wild-caught birds by buying one!

And,while we’re on the subject of buying a mynah bird, what’s a good ballpark estimate of how much a captive and domestically bred youthful specimen of one of the desirable pet species, might cost ?

Who can tell me all that I wish to know about these stellar and stupendous starlings?

2

In Australia we have the Indian Mynah (introduced and the Australian Noisy Miner. They are often confused although they don’t look all tha similat.

The Indian Mynah (or Myna) are like flying cane toads and should be exterminated.

3

My dad had an Assam Hill Mynah that could mimic anything you could imagine and drive you nuts yakking away day and night. Not sure that it was that friendly, but it made a hell of a mess firing bits of banana and peach all over. There was a fallout zone about four feet around the cage.
My mother was singularly unimpressed when it threw mealworms out along with the fruit.

4

Catch yourself a starling.

They are smaller, cheaper, and create less mess. They are almost as talented a mimic as a mynah.

5

Having kept a number of parrots, I’d have to say they vary enormously in how cuddly they are, even within the same species. I’d expect mynahs to have similar variation. I suggest you meet any prospective pet in person prior to purchase - some birds are notably more buddy-buddy with humans from the moment they meet, others not so much so.

6

I agree. Starlings are related and are excellent mimics, especially if hand raised from the egg. And as an introduced species, they’re legal to keep as pets in the US, while native species are not.

Mynahs are cool as pets, but they’re extremely expensive, and you need a tiled room to keep them in; they can shoot shit sideways.

I’m a fan of softbills, and I’ve kept several species, but they do tend to be higher maintenance than psittacines.

7

Mynah birds. Yoursah not.

8

Thanks for the insight Jar Jar :wink:

9

We have Mynahs in the wild in Thailand. Even in our neighborhood in Bangkok. Our condo unit on one side overlooks the grounds of a mansion, and there’s lots of bird life there, surprisingly much for this city. I like way they look. And the goofy way the walk instead of hop.

10

The common mynahs are wild in Hawaii (Wikipedia calls it “a very prominent population”). They are not as common as doves and sparrows, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in brains and intimidation. Don’t f*** with the mynahs.

11

The last time we were in Hawaii, we seemed to notice more mynahs than when we lived there. Maybe we just got used to them while living there, dunno. But I love seeing them running around free. Cute little guys.

12

Thanks, lissener; those were a couple of the major questions I had. I sure didn’t know they could sling their shit around in such a profligate manner! I still think mynahs are really cool-looking and comical, but now that I know these things I think I’ll focus on becoming a better, and better informed, keeper and companion for our mutual friends the “psittacine citizens” instead of expanding to softbill territory.

13

Oh, yes they ah.

14

Well, you’ve just fought my iggerince. I thought there was only one type.

Yes, Indian Mynahs here are about as popular as the plague.

15

Everything I know about mynah birds I learned from Terry and June. So not much, in other words.